DENVER – Senior Kengo Ohira scored the game winner in the NCAA First Round for the second-consecutive season to send the [9/6] University of Denver men's soccer team past San Diego in extra time in another Mile High City Snow Classico on Thursday afternoon at the University of Denver Soccer Stadium.
QUOTABLE JACK AND SHEILA WEINBERG HEAD MEN'S SOCCER COACH JAMIE FRANKS:
"I thought we used halftime to better ourselves. We changed some things in our system of play. Our plan coming in could have worked but with the conditions, we couldn't get the ball down and get the rhythm and the tempo that we really wanted to. After going a man-up, it was important to take the right calculated risks, and I thought we did that tonight.
"Kengo is a really good player who is finding his form again at the right time. You can't say enough about Griffin Meyer's effort on that play too. It's a gritty goal, but it was going to have to be on a day like today."
SIGNIFICANT STATS:
- Ohira's game winner was his third of the season and the 13th of his career. The game winner was the fifth in his four seasons with the Crimson and Gold, including his second game winner in the NCAA Tournament (2021 First Round at Grand Canyon).
- Denver improved to 6-9-1 in the NCAA Tournament and is moving on to the second round for the fifth time in its Division I history. All of Denver's second round appearances have come since 2015.
- Head coach Franks improved to 21-10-3 as a player or coach in the NCAA Tournament, including 5-6-1 as a coach at Denver and 5-5-0 as the Pioneers head coach.
- The Pioneers improved to 3-0-0 this season when playing with a man-advantage (Rhys Gourdie – straight red – 57').
- Denver improved to 90-21-15 at the University of Denver Soccer Stadium since the stadium opened in 2009. Denver is 80-10-9 at home since Franks joined the staff as an assistant in 2012 and 55-8-6 since he took over as the head coach in 2015.
- The cleansheet was Denver's 13th of the season and freshman goalkeeper Isaac Nehme's 10th solo shutout of his rookie campaign, the third most in a single season in Denver's DI history.
- Graduate student Stefan DeLeone moved into a tie with Pioneer greats Sam Hamilton, Scott DeVoss and Andre Shinyashiki for career matches played, appearing in his 83rd contest for the Crimson and Gold on Thursday.
KEY MOMENTS:
10' Meyer got on the end of the first real chance of the game, heading a Ronan Wynne cross from the Denver right just wide of the target and out for a goal kick.
13' Nehme saved a shot from distance from Mason Tuunbridge to keep things scoreless on the Toreros first real chance on the other end.
28' Nicklas Clausen rattled the crossbar in an attempt to chip Nehme, and the rebounded header off the forehead of Cesar Bahena was cleared off the line by Jake Mecham to maintain the cleansheet through a half hour of play.
40' Wynne got on the end of a Lukas Fisher corner kick on the back stick, but his header was saved down to his left.
42' Ohira nearly found the breakthrough in on a breakaway, but Jason Durbovich made a kick save down to his left, his second save of the game.
Halftime
57' Rhys Gourdie was sent off for San Diego just shy of the hour mark for a dangerous challenge on Wynne in-front of the Pioneers' bench.
83' Ben Smith had a chance late looking to capitalize on the Pioneers' man advantage, but his shot was blocked in front, and the match went to extra time.
Fulltime
93' Meyer's extra effort near the endline created an opportunity, the senior had his shot saved, but bounced into the middle of the box, and Ohira got on the end of the bouncing ball and slotted it into the open net.
102' Sam Bassett nearly doubled Denver's advantage, but his shot was wide of the post.
104' San Diego pressed for an equalizer late, but Nehme made three saves in the extra session to send the Pioneers on to the second round.
WHAT'S NEXT: [9/6] Denver will travel to [3/4] Duke to take on the seventh-seeded Blue Devils on Sunday, November 20, at 1 p.m. ET/11 a.m. MT.
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